SEVASTOPOL - A project created by a team of six elementary school students was in the spotlight Tuesday morning when Gov. Scott Walker visited the Sevastopol School District to honor Sharing is Caring.

The Sharing is Caring project, a clothes closet for low-income students, was created by Destination Imagination team members Nicole Olson, Danica Schultz, Oliver Matthews, Jordyn Welch, Eve Andreae and Micai Welch with the help of their coaches, Sarah Olson, a community member, and the assistant coach, Megan Kasten, a Sevastopol senior.

The students competed in the Project Outreach category for Destination Imagination, which is a global competition that involves hands-on activities including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, fine arts and service learning. Sharing is Caring was the result of their service learning studies for Project Outreach.

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Gov. Scott Walker spent the morning at Sevastopol School where the students showcased their talents, boasted about the learning experiences and education opportunities at the school in Institute, four miles northeast of Sturgeon Bay on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. The high school pep band welcomed the governor with patriotic tunes. To see a photo gallery of the visit, go to www.doorcountyadvocate.com.(Photo: Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

"These students are working to make their school a better place to learn and their communities a better place to live," Walker said to the assembled Destination Imagination teams and their coaches at the school. "They took the initiative to develop this free school store serving underprivileged kids."

Sharing is Caring opened to students in February and provided hundreds of garments, boots and shoes to children throughout all the grades. While donations from students, staff and community members continued to flow into the store, the students began to search for ways to spread the bounty to others in need, Olson said.

"We helped a local family that had a house fire, we donated to the technical college so that students would have nice clothes to wear for interviews, we gave boxes of clothes to a homeless shelter in Green Bay and one of our school families took donations to the Philippines when they went there for a mission trip in the spring," Olson said.

"The kids saw we helped, not only, our school, but our community, our state and around the world," Olson said.

The team wanted to spread the word so that other schools would form similar projects and decided the first step would be to write to their governor about the project and its success, she said.

"We all sat down together and everyone helped to write an email to Governor Walker. That was a couple of months ago and we didn't think much about it after that," Olson said.

Friday afternoon, Olson got a telephone call that made her jaw drop.

"The school principal called me and said the governor is going to recognize our project and is coming to the school Tuesday. I was surprised," she said. "This has been a thrill for the kids and, what's even better, maybe other schools will start this, too."

The clothes closet project is an example of the positive impact of a school on its community, Walker said to the group.

"These students, and their fellow students throughout the state, are the future of Wisconsin," he said.

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Holding one of the puppet show's props, Gov. Scott Walker talks to second graders at Sevastopol School following their presentation of a puppet show. To see a photo gallery of the visit, go to www.doorcountyadvocate.com.(Photo: Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

During listening sessions in every county across the state, Walker said, the common theme has been the importance of education and a good workforce.

"In my (proposed) budget we are making historic investments in education," Walker said. These include allocating $11.5 billion over two years for K-12 education and $649 million in new state aid for all K-12 schools.

A good education is the foundation for a solid workforce, he said. The Sevastopol School District is estimated to receive more than $1.3 million in funding from the state under the proposed budget.

After Walker gave Olson a plaque recognizing the project, the Destination Imagination teams that competed in May at the global finals in Tennessee performed.

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Katie Grooter's second-grade students present a puppet show for Gov. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin 1st Assembly District Rep. Joel Kitchens of Sturgeon Bay, right. To see a photo gallery of the visit, go to www.doorcountyadvocate.com.(Photo: Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Following the performances, Walker met with some of the students who participated in the schools' mentoring program that matches high school students with elementary school students.

The program began 21 years ago with six pairs of students and has grown to where there are 65 student matches, said Lisa Bley, an elementary teacher and coordinator for the mentoring program.

While the goal of the program is to provide guidance and support for the younger students, the program also benefits the mentors, Bley said.

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Gov. Scott Walker, background right, conducts a round table discussion with Sevastopol students of different grade levels Tuesday morning. The students told of their learning experiences, talents, expectations and education opportunities. To see a photo gallery of the visit, go to www.doorcountyadvocate.com. Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin(Photo: Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

"All of the students bond, it's kind of like a big brother or big sister sort of thing," said Juliana Behme, 18, who mentored two children during the 2016-17 school year. "It's a lot of fun. It makes a difference."

The programs and activities at the Sevastapol schools are an example of the impact a school has on its community, Walker said following the event.

"It's not how many dollars you put in, money is important, but where do they spend it?" Walker said. "You look at the impact it has on student success. From what we saw, (Tuesday at Sevastopol), they are doing very well with the programs here and the mentoring, and other things and it's a good use of taxpayer dollars."